GraphicsOptimization

Derek Tonn

Posted 20 July 2007 - 01:17 AM

Derek Tonn

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July 1, 2007 (late on here, I know....sorry).

mapformation is very proud to announce that we have launched a new spin-off venture entitled GraphicsOptimization. "G.O." was created to be a place where graphic designers (and/or map designers) and web developers could go to learn more about the benefits and techniques associated with making their web pages load and display faster, all while consuming less bandwidth and (ultimately) electricity. Our firm has years of expertise working in this particular additional field, and we hope that the site will eventually help to make the Internet just a bit better of a place to work and play.

benbakelaar

Posted 20 July 2007 - 11:26 AM

benbakelaar

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Congrats Derek! Great idea and execution. I notice that there is no way to click back to "home" page from header/menu. Also, I think a more sophisticated body text font would really add to the site. Just IMHO.

Derek Tonn

Posted 22 July 2007 - 02:53 PM

Derek Tonn

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Thanks for the feedback, guys!

Ben: That "home" issue is a javascript issue I've been having...a similar issue to the four randomly-displayed images on the right side of every page. With the script I am using, it doesn't like both random images and a link to another page. It's a problem I'm working on with a few friends of mine in the web dev community....trading favors. For now though, I thought we were "good enough" to go live with the site and work out that kink a few days/weeks later. On the fonts issue, I'm actually trying to keep it "dull and boring" ...as I don't want the typeface to serve as a distraction. I could maybe spice it up a LITTLE bit...but I am less-concerned with "pretty" and more concerned with FAST....especially related to this particular site.

Jean-Louis: You're making me blush! I do spend WAY too much time on the "web development" side of the house, in addition to map design (I built this entire site myself, as I essentially did with mapformation.com as well). I pulled out all the stops on this one though from a "coding" perspective...and brought in another 3-4 new elements that add a lot of "pop"...without detracting from the overall goal of simplicity. Make it look simple/easy...only with very elegant coding and many pleasant-surprises related to rollovers and random insertion of images, to make the site feel new/fresh every time you visit it.

The site has generated very modest traffic results so far....about 15-20 unique individuals per day. However, this week we'll have our "press releases" hitting two of the larger higher education association listservs that we belong to (thousands of members in each organization), so I expect a nice spike in traffic beginning this week. We've also had a fruitful conversation going with Microsoft related to G.O. work since we launched the site....so we'll see...... :fingerscrossed: